Group therapy: One for All, or Not at All

02/06/08 Treatment Options

Now, I know on a fundamental level that my beliefs are completely incorrect, that no one in group therapy is wallowing. Struggling, yes. Being supported by others who are equally struggling, absolutely. Yet, I also know that I am not alone in my thinking. Why do so many of us hold on to the notion that therapy isn’t for us, that we are somehow above it?
   
It all boils down to the cowboy. Seriously. Picture that stoic figure out on the plains, astride a horse, Stetson hat casting a finely-cut shadow. Now, who is he with? Exactly. No one. This rugged individual is responsible for himself and does not need the assistance of others. He’s considered weak if he does. On some level I have always identified with this image, the ramrod-straight spine of self-reliance, that ability to be a man.

I’m not alone. According the American Diabetes Association, there are 20.8 million children and adults in the United States, or 7 percent of the population, who have diabetes. While an estimated 14.6 million have been diagnosed, unfortunately, 6.2 million people (or nearly one-third) are unaware that they have the disease. These numbers clearly indicate a population that feels we do not need one another. Otherwise the support groups that serve us would be flooded instead of only moderately filled. 

Possibly we feel the disease isn’t significant enough to warrant such a fuss. Another concept that couldn’t be further from the truth. The reality is:

• Heart disease and stroke account for about 65 percent of deaths in people with diabetes.
• Diabetic retinopathy causes 12,000 to 24,000 new cases of blindness each year.
• Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, accounting for 44 percent of new cases in 2002.
• More than 60 percent of nontraumatic lower-limb amputations occur in people with diabetes.

Clearly we are not doing a decent job at administering sound medicine on our own. Quite possibly then, those of us averse to therapy could use a little of the “It takes a village” approach. 

Ask yourself: Why am I here, on this site, reading this article? You’re looking for answers, for feedback, for clarification, for justification—all of which occur in group therapy, with people close by, whom you could reach out to, and connect with, and feel support from.
   
Group therapy has the reverse effect of the one I fear: the label. Because everyone there already wears it, the point is moot.  Instead it creates a bonding sense of community where the rugged individual is left to ride off into the cool embrace of the sunset, while you stay at the ranch, enjoying the comforts of a group that understands that Hello, my name is_____________ and I’m a___________________, is just an introduction.

Sources:

American Diabetes Association, Diabetes Statistics

American Diabetes Association, Complications of Diabetes in the United States